I was asked to teach an internal "sketching class" here at our R&D facilitiy with the objective of giving people and understanding of how to present their ideas though basic sketching - thus i would show them how to do the fundemental drawings with shape.... and such.

I think i am going to change it up and teach them more how to tell a story and the importance of telling the story with adding sketches - and show how a sketch can be anything. I would appreciate thoughts / feed back / samples.... below are images i am pulling together to show that a "sketch can be any level of quality and still be of great value.

Okay first thoughts (before my 2nd coffee….) – More important than being a great sketcher is to be a great story teller that uses pictures to enhance the story you are tell (the idea is the story) to explain visually. We learn / absorb in three base methods with people being dominate in different ones. 1. Verbal2. Audio3. VisualIf you use only a single one or 2 then you risk losing a person who absorbs through the other

Perhaps 2 hoursTwo-part class (1 session)

1. The psychology of sketching (more lecture style) a. What are you trying to achieve?b. What is a sketch ?c. Valued. What is goode. What is story board2. Sketching practice (practical execution)a. Layoutb. The storyc. How to communicate through sketchi. Focus on sketchingd. Adding colore. Making it speak

My advice is to break up the lecture the part. Keep alternating between lecture, demo, practice. This keeps everyone on their toes the entire time.

For example, you could do a short 10 minute intro and a bit on psychology of the sketch. Then do a very simple exercises, like drawing a smily face vs drawing a sad face. Have everyone do it, then talk about how much complexity of concept they just achieved. I try to break everything down as simple as possible.... i.e. draw a crowd, a bunch of circles with the front row having smily faces... showing action, arrows in space... that kinds of stuff. Do that 3-4 times then have a brief wrap up convo and boom, 2 hours gone.

I think you are on the right track with a focus on communication of concepts and ideas vs quality of sketch for this mixed group.

No problem. It prevents people from leaning back too much or falling into the "let me just check my phone quick". I like to think of these types of sessions, and brainstorms as well for that matter, less like classes and more like mental boot camps. Channel that inner drill sergeant

I lead a day-long workshop in sketching for non-sketchers recently. It was focused on building facility and comfort with sketching for people who usually don't. After the intro, it generally follows a demo-exercise-critique cycle, which like Yo said, keeps them on their toes and fully engaged. No boredom there!

This is a whole day of course, but you could take pieces of it - the exercises build on each other, so I wouldn't suggest going too far out of order. Or just use it as a template to jump off of and make it your own. I found the timing was pretty spot on (optimistic if anything), and in sticking to the durations, it helps move everyone forward (once again, per Yo: inner drill sargeant!!). The students generally found it good, with the biggest "complaints" being "we want more of everything". I think you'll find that your two hours goes very, very quickly.

And I would drop anything about color , especially in your timeframe - that could easily be a whole class in itself. Instead of color, I would focus on the importance of value and contrast.

Have fun with it, I bet it'll be great.___________________________________________Workshop SyllabusSketching for UX Designers, Researchers and DevelopersInstructor: Jake Fleisher

10:00 - 10:15Introductionsinstructor and students answer a few general questions: why are you here, what do you do, what are your goals?

10:15 - 10:30Lecture: Approaching SketchingHow to prepare, and what to think about (and not think about) when you sketch.• open sketch pads (demo “right way”) and have tools ready to use, even before exercises • sketching has to be re-learned• lack of fear has to be re-learned (or fear has to be unlearned), as it was when we were young• moving “the sketching skill” in the brain: from logic to lizard• physical movements and human factors are important (shoulder, elbow wrist)• environmental conditions are important (physical orientation, desktop real estate)• do not (initially) attempt to sketch and design simultaneously, you will improve at neither/fail at both

10:30 - 10:45Demo: The Rules of SketchingThese are the qualities (and guidelines to approach them) that make sketches look good. The “rules” to achieving these qualities are a great place to start from, but are not meant to be followed absolutely. The end goal is to easily produce good-looking, highly communicative sketches, not to follow rules. Any way you get there is great.• material and tool useo paper pads vs. notebooks, bending covers over, holding your pen or pencil, your palm on the page (or not), etc.• line quality• contrast (line and other)• drawing through• burning in (line contrast)• warm-up sketching, includingo hitting targets on the papero where to looko what is parallel

These are the secondary supporting rules to help your sketches “get there”. • hidden lines• overlay/underlay technique• proportion and scale (granted some design in here, already breaking the “separation rule”, but one has to keep in mind proportion to some extent for accuracy (hands, tablet vs. phone, etc.)• lighting and shadow (we will not get into this very deeply as it is properly the domain of 3D objects, but knowing a little is very useful)

11:15 - 11:30Critique and Correction I: Warm-Ups, Devices and Static UIFurther practice on identifying and articulating what works and doesn’t work in sketches, instructor demonstrates potential improvements on student work using the overlay/underlay technique.

11:30 - 12:00Exercise - Review II: Devices and Dynamic UIStudents work on a specific exercises, balancing facility, comfort, and speed. Instructor rotates several times through classroom, observing individual students’ work, offering suggestions and correcting work and technique through demonstration.• draw a device (phone, tablet or similar)o sitting on a surface vs. no surface o indicate light source where appropriateo indicate dynamic UI (example: a status screen and next step/an alert and how it is dismissed, saved, or responded to/unlocking a lock screen) on-screen and through call-outs (lettering and layout)12:00 - 12:45Lunch

12:45 - 1:00Critique and Correction II: Devices and Dynamic UIFurther practice on identifying and articulating what works and doesn’t work in sketches, instructor demonstrates potential improvements on student work using the overlay/underlay technique.

1:00 - 1:10ReviewWhere we are, how we got here. Review of rules and guidelines, with demonstrations by students.

1:10 - 1:25Demo: The Hand and FingersHow to approach sketching human hands and incorporating them in your UI. Importance of proportion, viewpoint, and rotation. Discussion of where and when to do this.

1:25 - 1:50Exercise - Review III: Incorporating Hands and Fingers in Your SketchesStudents work on a specific exercises, balancing facility, comfort, and speed. Instructor rotates several times through classroom, observing individual students’ work, offering suggestions and correcting work and technique through demonstration.• draw a device (phone, tablet or similar)o in a human hand o indicate light sourceo indicate dynamic touch-screen UI (example: a status screen and next step/an alert and how it is dismissed, saved, or responded to/unlocking a lock screen) on-screen and through call-outs (lettering and layout)

1:50 - 2:00Critique and Correction III: Incorporating Hands and Fingers in Your SketchesFurther practice on identifying and articulating what works and doesn’t work in sketches, instructor demonstrates potential improvements on student work using the overlay/underlay technique.

2:00 - 2:15Demo: Incorporating People in Your UI and Scenario SketchesHow to approach sketching people in static and dynamic forms, and incorporating them in your UI and scenario development. Importance of proportion, viewpoint, implied and demonstrated movement.

2:15 - 2:30Exercise - Review IV: Incorporating People in Your UI and Scenario SketchesStudents work on a specific exercises, balancing facility, comfort, and speed. Instructor rotates several times through classroom, observing individual students’ work, offering suggestions and correcting work and technique through demonstration.• draw a person standing in several different views (front, back, side, top)• draw a person moving or going through motions o indicate the motions both implicitly and explicitly

2:30 - 2:40 Critique and Correction IV: Incorporating People in Your UI and Scenario SketchesFurther practice on identifying and articulating what works and doesn’t work in sketches, instructor demonstrates potential improvements on student work using the overlay/underlay technique.

2:40 - 2:55Demo: The Use ScenarioHow to approach scenario development as a storytelling tool. Importance of context, keyframes, viewpoint, scale, minimalism, speed.

3:40 - 3:50Critique and Correction V: Use Scenarios and StorytellingFurther practice on identifying and articulating what works and doesn’t work in sketches, instructor demonstrates potential improvements on student work using the overlay/underlay technique.

3:50 - 4:00Further Resources and Taking It to the Next LevelReview of common resources for continuing and improving facility. Emphasis on the importance of practice and review cycles for improvement.